


Tony vs Kitten

by kellebelle



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: I was just trying to write fluff, I'm terrible at writing fluff, Kitten, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Pre-Slash Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve is adorable, any feels were accidental, tony gets jealous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-17
Updated: 2012-11-17
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/565205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kellebelle/pseuds/kellebelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve finds a kitten and brings it to the tower. Tony does not get jealous of this kitten at all. Nope. (One-shot)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony vs Kitten

**Author's Note:**

  * For [americancapsicle](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=americancapsicle).



> This is my first work in the Marvel fandom. Be gentle. I haven't written something in years.

Tony Stark had only been back home for five minutes when he heard it. He slowly pulled his eyes from the tablet in his hand where he was diligently striving to complete a design for yet another thing S.H.I.E.L.D. insisted on having him create. He’d tried to get out of it because he was already pretty busy, but no one ever believed that excuse even when he was telling the truth. Being a genius such as himself was truly painful from time to time. No one understood his woes.

His eyes scanned the room once over before he placed his attention back on his busy work, finger pausing abruptly above the screen when he heard the sound again. This time he set his tablet down and stood up slowly as he tried to figure out where it was coming from. What the hell was that? As if to answer him, the noise continued on repeatedly this time, seemingly coming closer a well.

He made a move to head toward the noise and stopped when Steve entered the room. That smile on his face did not, in fact, make Tony swoon only a little. Nope. Not at all.

“You’re back.”

He gave the soldier a bright smile and nodded. Normally he would have said more, but Steve appeared to be holding something in his arms. Something small. Something small that was the actual source of that noise as it was continuing to meow quite loudly in Steve’s arms. The billionaire arched an eyebrow.

“That’s a cat.”

Steve nodded and walked right over to Tony. “I found him in the alley earlier.”

Tony took a small step back, mostly unimpressed by this statement. “There’s a cat in my tower.”

Steve’s smile faltered a little and he stopped walking. “Yeah. I took him to the vet already to see if anyone had reported him missing. He’s only ten weeks old according to the doctor. I didn’t want to leave him though. He was all alone.”

Tony blinked in reply, trying to come up with a response. “I always pictured you as more of a dog person. Besides, aren’t you worried you’ll break him? You remember the state of half of my electronics. All of my touch screens quiver in fear when you are nearby.” His tone was mostly lighthearted.

At this point Steve was no longer smiling as he was fixing Tony with a nervous look that was somewhere between eager child and wounded puppy. “Tony, I can’t get rid of him. Everyone on the team already loves him and we’ve given him a name. Well, I did.”

The genius nodded once, daring to take a small step closer this time, placing his hands in his pants pockets. The small animal peered up at him with big eyes, its cries picking up again as it stared at the new stranger in front of it. Tony studied the kitten but made no attempt to touch it. It was completely black, save for a small white patch on its chest. “Oh. Good. Okay.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his own neck and gave Steve a smile. “No. That’s great. He’ll fit in nicely. Listen to how much he whines already.”

The soldier huffed out a quiet laugh, his eye roll only halfhearted. “Just like someone else I know around here.” There was no mistaking the teasing smile on his face.

Tony leaned over until he was eye level with the cat, appraising him. “If you cough up a hairball in any of my shoes, scratch up any of my furniture, or even attempt to mark your territory near any of my electronics, we’re having words. Do you understand me?”

The kitten let out a long meow in reply, causing Steve to laugh. Tony chuckled quietly and lightly scratched behind the kitten’s ear.

“Remember. No funny business.” He stood up straight again, the small smile back on his face. “I guess you could have done worse, Cap.” He winked at Steve before grabbing his tablet from the side table, waving it gently in Steve’s face. “I need to get to work on this before Fury decides I’m not busy enough. See ya later.”

Steve watched him walk away. “Thanks, Tony.” He had been hoping Tony would have been more enthusiastic about it, but no one could ever predict the way Tony would react to anything.

Tony lifted a hand of acknowledgement and walked into the elevator.

*****  
 _A couple of weeks later…_

The music in his workshop was blasting. Despite his previous warnings to the tiny feline, which Steve had given the name of Tiny Tony (and Tony was in no way amused by this at all), the cat had taken it upon himself to claw at one of his expensive button down shirts. As if that was not enough, the cat had indeed coughed up his very first hairball into Tony’s shoe and has since claimed the billionaire’s favorite cushion on the living room couch as his napping spot when he wasn’t being pampered endlessly by Steve.

This cat was already annoying Tony. He had no idea how such a tiny creature could take up so much space or take away so much of his time with Steve as this little nuisance could. Recently, Tony had become accustomed to daily visits from Steve that involved Tony being forced to eat or forced to sleep. Steve was pretty forceful in his own way, and while the billionaire put up his token protest, he wasn’t entirely bothered by the fact that Steve was trying to take care of him.

It took him and Steve a long time to be comfortable enough with each other to even sit in amicable silence while Tony worked and Steve either drew or nosed around the workshop. Now Steve was so busy trying to take care of that cat and making sure he had everything he needed, that he was no longer getting that private time he was so enjoying. That’s not to say that Steve still wasn’t bringing him food or nagging him to sleep, but he had that feline in his arms every time. Still, Tony sulked like the spoiled child he was who did not enjoy having to share the attention he did receive with others.

And right on cue, Steve came skipping down the stairs with a plate of food in one hand and an oversized rodent in the other.

“Hope you’re ready for a break, Tony. It’s spaghetti night. I almost lost a hand in the process of making you a plate, but blood loss was minimal and none of it touched your food.”

Tony looked over his shoulder and smiled, eyes looking over the plate and deciding it looked clean enough. He wiped his hands on his jeans until Dummy thrust a towel in his face. He grabbed the plate and set it on the table in front of him, Steve pulling up a stool to take a seat next to him. “Smells great. The kitchen’s not on fire or anything is it?”

“Close call, but I saved the day. Apparently you’re not the only one with the skills to burn water.”

Tony laughed at this as he shoved a bite into his mouth. Tiny Tony jumped from Steve’s arms and pranced over toward Tony’s plate, sitting up and staring at him with the same wide eyes while he ate. Tony squinted his eyes. “Hello, Satan.”

The cat meowed back in reply. Tony glared, pointing his fork at it. “Did you shit on anything else I love today?”

The cat tilted its head as if thinking of an answer to this. Steve shook his head.

“I think Tiny Tony likes you best, Tony.”

Tony tried to send Steve the most horrible glare he could, but it didn’t really come across that way. “Still with that name. I thought I told you to change it.”

Steve gave him a wry smile. “He only responds to Tony.”

The cat meowed again. Tony sighed. Steve kept smiling.

“Don’t you have to feed him or put him to bed or shower him with love or something?”

Steve shrugged his shoulders a little. Tony was jealous of the cat and the soldier was entirely too amused by this. “He wouldn’t stop following me around when he saw I was making my way down here. I couldn’t say no to that face. It’s adorable.”

Tony pursed his lips and pinched his eyebrows together. Instead of coming up with a response, he just shoved another bite of spaghetti into his mouth and chewed slowly.

Steve cleared his throat and ducked his head slightly, looking directly at the cat. “Tony, I was wondering if—“ He was cut off by an interruption from Jarvis informing him that he had an incoming call from Director Fury.

“Great. Tell him I’m busy.”

Steve stood up. “Take care of it before he decides you’re not busy enough. Remember? I need to go do something quickly. I’ll be back for the cat in awhile.” Steve mentally cursed himself for suddenly chickening out.

Tony opened his mouth to protest, but he wasn’t sure if he was more aggravated that Steve was leaving or that Steve was leaving the cat with him. He watched as Steve left abruptly and tried to figure out if he said something wrong. He was pretty sure he hadn’t, but maybe Steve had some diabolical plan to make sure Tony the human and Tony the cat became best friends by the end of the night. He looked at the cat once Steve was completely gone and sighed. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Tiny Devil.”

The cat meowed in reply.

*****

A short time later Tony was taking a break, laying across the sofa in his workshop while the damn kitten continued to paw tools onto the floor. He shot another unimpressed glare toward the Tony cat. What even was his life anymore?

Without warning, the cat pounced onto Tony’s chest and laid down on top of it. Tony sighed and gently patted the cat’s head. This wasn’t fair.

“Look, oh evil one. You’re killing me here. Did it ever occur to you that I might enjoy my time with Steve? Not that I’d ever tell Steve that because he’s just a nice guy who wants to make sure everyone is healthy and living. Not all of us can be so flawless. At least we started getting along, but then you, little fellow, come along and now Steve is so preoccupied with you. He feeds you constantly, he praises you, he carries you around everywhere. Okay maybe that last part isn’t really a complaint because I’d be pissed if he carried me around anywhere. Or at all.” Tony stopped and thought about this. He was lying. Only a little though.

The cat was purring contentedly as Tony continued to talk.

“Really, Steve spends so much time taking care of you.” He yawned, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. “He even calls you Tiny Tony. He gave you my name and does all this stuff for you and I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this but--” And then he stopped because he was waylaid with a thought. It had not even crossed his mind until now, but now that it had...did Steve enjoy doing all of that for him?

He blinked several times as he tried to understand where this thought process was leading him, but he was too scared to think it could mean something more than that. He was just reading too much into it because he was feeling hopeful. That’s all. He looked at the Tony kitten again. The kitten tilted his head before letting it rest against Tony’s chest. Tony’s train of thought continued despite the fact that he knew it was best not to go there. Ever. It would only lead to more heartbreak for him and he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to take much more.

It wasn’t long before the constant purring from the cat and the idea that Steve could possibly feel something for him pulled him into a calmer sleep than he’d had in a long time.

*****

When Tony opened his eyes, it took him a moment to realize where he was. Looking down at his chest confirmed that he had apparently fallen asleep and that the cat devil itself was still dozing on his chest. He yawned again and turned his head, noting right away that Steve had pulled up a chair and was sitting right next to the sofa. And he was drawing.

Tony’s guilty pleasure was watching Steve’s face when he drew. There was always a calmness that seemed to come with it, but he managed to look intense at the same time. Tony continued to stare, even when Steve looked up from his drawing for a moment and caught his eye. The soldier blushed a little but gave him a smile just the same.

And if Tony was blushing just a little too, well there was no need to bring it up.

“I was coming down here to force you to sleep, but it seems the cat got to you first.”

Tony laughed softly at that. “More like held me prisoner.”

Steve kept smiling as his hand guided the pencil over the paper. “I told you that he liked you the best.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “And that just shows you how horrible animals are at reading people.”

Steve stayed quiet for a moment, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he appeared to be focusing intensely on a certain part of his drawing. “Or else he sees right through your crap.”

Tony scoffed. He turned his attention back to the cat and slid his hand over the soft fur. “He’s young and doesn’t know any better yet.”

“Tony, I don’t have the excuse of being young. And I’m not naive.”

The billionaire looked at Steve again, raising his eyebrows in question. “Why did you name him after me?”

Steve pressed his lips together for a moment and then placed his sketch pad on the table next to him before linking his fingers together and leaning forward in his seat. “Because he reminded me of you.”

Tony arched an eyebrow. “Should I feel insulted there? Because I gotta tell you, I really have no idea how I should take that.”

Steve smiled softly and spoke slowly. “Well, this will sound incredibly cheesy, but when I found him he was crying for attention. He was lost and alone in the world and no one would go near him. He was shaking and obviously hungry. Someone just left him there without a care in the world.” He cleared his throat and leveled his gaze. “Maybe it’s silly, but I couldn’t resist. You know, when I woke up, I felt so alone because everyone I had ever known, ever even loved in life was dead. Having to figure out how to keep on going when you don’t fit in is not easy at all. The first time I saw you, spoke to you, I was so enraged because you were the only link I had to the past. I had put you in a spot you did not deserve to be in anymore than I did. I decided the best way to overcome this sense of anonymity would be to get to know you better, so that’s what I did.” He held up a finger to shush Tony who had opened his mouth to retort. “I’m glad I did. No one should have to go through life feeling alone and unloved.”

Tony cleared his throat. “It’s not your job...”

Steve shrugged. “No. It’s not my job. It just makes me happy. It took me a long time to feel like I had a home, to accept that I had friends and that it was okay for me to live my life again. Tony, I think I’d still be just as lost and alone, all of us would, if it hadn’t been for you. You offered your home to us. You did that for us. You are horrible at taking care of yourself. I don’t know exactly what happened to you when you were growing up, and I’m not going to ask because it’s not my business, but you don’t have to...you’re not alone, Tony. That’s why the cat got named after you. He needed just as much love and attention. He deserved to have all the care in the world he was missing out on. You do too. That’s why.”

Tony was quiet for a long time. He was a complete mess when it came to dealing with emotions and this sort of hit a spot that might cause a slight waver in his voice if he decided to speak. Instead he just stared at Steve, swallowing nervously before carefully choosing his next words. “You really believe that?”

Steve nodded. “I do. I love spending time with you, and the addition of the cat doesn’t change anything. He’s not a replacement. There is no replacing you.” He grinned and leaned over, picking up the cat to cradle it in his arms once more. “He’s a sweet cat, but I haven’t been trying to ask the cat to go on a date with me for the past few weeks.” His eye slid back to Tony’s and he bit his lip as he waited for a reaction.

Tony was honestly having the hardest time with words today. He sat up slowly and ran his fingers through his hair, idly wondering if he was still sleeping. “What?” Zero points awarded to Tony for this life-changing question.

Steve sighed and let the cat jump over to the table where it promptly pranced away, tail swishing. “I was not sure how to ask you without completely embarrassing myself because I have no experience doing this.”

Tony was pretty sure he was dreaming now. “What? I mean no. I mean really? If I had known that I would have asked you a long time ago. I am spectacular at fucking everything up.”

Steve was silent and moved to sit next to Tony. “I’ve been trying to understand this. Us. Me. I mean, I’ve never actually had feelings for another man before. I didn’t know what to do with it at first. I still don’t know. I don’t know how to be romantic or what is supposed to happen on a date. I just know that I like you, a lot.”

“Am I actually awake right now?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Yes, Tony.” He smiled fondly. “Unless I’m about to be rejected in the most humiliating way. If that’s the case, then yes, this is just a dream.”

Tony licked his lips and watched Steve’s face. “Why me?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. Do I have to know? I could probably name a thousand tiny things that make me like you honestly. I even love all those things you consider flaws.”

“Tomorrow night. Seven o’clock. I’ll get us a reservation somewhere. Be ready.”

Steve smiled brightly. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Tony decided enough time had been wasted when he leaned over and kissed Steve. Steve apparently felt the same way as he kissed Tony back.


End file.
